A Family Dinner
by AnimeAngel90
Summary: An alternate epilogue to Book 7. A family dinner shows just how much has changed since the events of Book 7, and how so many of those changes were for the better. Contains mild spoilers and facts about the character's lives confirmed by JK Rowling.


Angel: Hello readers! Basically, this fic is my way of appreciating the original Book 7 epilogue - its an alternate epilogue (that contains spoilers) with heaps of the facts that JK later confirmed (like careers etc) within it, along with my own interpretation of the characters. Enjoy!

I obviously do not own Harry Potter. Else I would be rich, which I am not.

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Harry frowned lightly as he looked out the window of his house. So much had changed since the defeat of Voldemort – the fact that he now owned and enjoyed living in a house was just one of these things.

His attention was diverted from his front yard as he heard the doorbell ring, and instantly knew who it was when he heard a loud crashing, followed by Ginny's shrieking at her eldest son. Shaking his head slightly, Harry decided he could no longer hide away in his room – if Ron was here, then that meant everyone had arrived. Despite Hermione's influence, Ron still managed to take a laid-back approach to things, and was often the last one to _everything_ (He had even nearly been late to his own wedding, but that had been because he'd fainted).

Sighing, Harry turned and made his way down the hall. Few noticed his entrance to the dining room – everyone was still too busy catching up. Ginny however noticed him, and beckoned him over to greet his best friend. Ron waved lazily as Harry moved over to join them.

"Hey Harry, long time no see," he said with a grin, tossing his cloak on the couch.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "If it wasn't for me, it would have been far longer," she muttered, shooting a quick glare at her husband. "It's good to see you again Harry. Sorry we missed the last family dinner – I had work, and my parents couldn't babysit this bunch of troublemakers that night," she said, gesturing to the various children running past their respective parents. Rose, Hermione and Ron's eldest, was chasing her two cackling black-haired cousins, James and Albus, while Lily and Hugo (the youngest in both families) laughed at the brothers' clumsy attempts to escape the wrath of their cousin.

Finally, Rose tackled James, narrowly missing the chair where Mrs Weasley was sitting. She smiled in a bemused way at her grandchildren before turning her attention back to the conversation with Fleur and Bill.

Albus, grinning gleefully, turned to escape, but run right into Kingsley, who was knocked backwards, nearly knocking Percy over as well. Albus blinked at the damage, but turned and started running again as Percy glared at him.

Meanwhile, the various parents were ignoring the antics of their children, though Harry and Ron were obviously hiding snickers. Hermione pursed her lips in disapproval, but years of marriage to Ron and being a mother had slightly improved her tolerance, and so she said nothing.

"So Harry, having fun at the Ministry? Heard that Malfoy was causing trouble again," Ron said, chuckling as James made a break for freedom, causing a shriek of outrage from Rose as the chase started again, this time towards the backyard.

"Not really. He and Pansy were just whining about a tiny scrape Scorpius got after that day he spent at the Ministry. Honestly, you'd think a dragon tried to eat him, the way they're harping on about it," Harry said as he sidestepped George's son, who was eager to escape punishment for accidentally upending the strawberry ice-cream on Victoire's head. Ted Lupin soon came barrelling into the room, looking furious and ready to avenge the attack upon his rather un-amused girlfriend. He looked at Harry and Ron, who merely pointed towards the front door, which caused Ted to unleash a war cry and jump out the door to attack the young prankster.

Ron chuckled. "That sounds like Malfoy. Sorry I wasn't there to save you mate, but we only just got back from Egypt. I swear, if it wasn't for my spectacular charms, Hermione just might have stayed there. Honestly, she tried to stay in every single tomb we visited, and I had to literally drag her out of the museum. She'll never change," he said with a grin at his wife.

Hermione ignored him, and Harry chuckled. "You picked a good time to go on vacation, Ron. I've had barely any complaints since you left, which, come to think of it, might have been because you weren't there," he said, laughing again as he dodged Ron's punch.

"I can't believe you think so low of me Harry," he said, pretending to be deeply wounded. "After all our years of working together, you still try to blame me for everything. Half the time, the problems are your fault anyway! Remember that vampire? And the raiding of that house filled with those drunken teenage Muggles? And the episode with the dragon? And..."

"Ok, ok, I get the point Ron," Harry said hastily, stopping his friend from reciting all the things Harry had done wrong in his time as Auror. Ok, the drunken teenagers thing was his fault – he'd read the address wrong – but he still maintained that the vampire episode was entirely Ron's fault. But, being Head of the Auror Department meant you couldn't blame everyone else all the time – even if it wasn't your fault, _you_ got blamed. This was something Ron took great delight in doing (blaming Harry), despite the protests of his wife and sister.

Both of the aforementioned females were now talking about the various Ministry workers they knew. Hermione was very high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (despite maintaining that she'd never be a lawyer, she was just too good not to do it), and had been away on holidays for over a month, so Ginny was trying to catch her up on everything she'd missed. "I don't believe you! Even Luna wouldn't do that!" Hermione said to Ginny, sounding appalled.

Ginny laughed. "Oh, but she did. It was spectacular – I've never seen Zachariah Smith move that fast in my life," she said with a snicker before glancing into the kitchen. "Albus Severus Potter! If you don't put that plate down right now, you are going to be grounded for a month!" she shouted, as she ran to save her mother's cooking from her middle child. Hermione chuckled and followed, greeting the others in the dining room on the way. George's wife then entered the front room, followed by Victoire (who had spent the last 5 or so minutes loudly complaining about ill-mannered children in a tone to make her mother proud), and both of them marched outside to find a certain doomed youngster.

Ron smiled as he watched Ginny storm off. "It still amazes me how Ginny is even scarier than Mum. I mean, the kids don't stand a chance," he said in a low voice to Harry, who tried to hide his snicker. Mrs Weasley, who had just wandered over to greet her son, frowned at both of them. "I heard that," she said crossly before embracing Ron. "And I'd advise you not to let Ginny hear you laughing at her, Harry," she said, just as Ginny reappeared.

"Harry was what?" she asked, her tone deadly. Harry coughed and smiled meekly. "Nothing, Ginny," he said, knowing better than to give an excuse. He could swear that Ginny could smell trouble – well, she'd have to, living with Potters. Ginny glared at her husband before disappearing again.

"You are so whipped," Ron said with a chuckle, and Harry raised his eyebrow.

"Who are you to talk? You and Hermione are worse," he replied, causing Ron to laugh.

"Least I'm man enough to admit it," he said, pretending to flex his arm.

George rolled his eyes as he entered the room. "You, a man? Stop pulling my leg Ron," he said, smiling briefly at Harry.

Harry sighed as he watched George. It had been so many years since Fred died, but George hadn't really been the same since. He'd barely spoken to anyone for months afterwards, and had closed down their shop for over a year before letting someone else run it until he felt he could cope. He'd gotten a lot better since he'd met his own wife – a beautiful witch from America – and started a family, but there were still days where he wasn't himself at all. George then noticed Harry watching him, and grinned.

"Well, Fred's certainly in trouble!" he said, sounding delighted at the fact that his son was just as much a troublemaker as his father and namesake uncle. The aforementioned troublemaker was being lead into the room by his ear by his mother, who rolled her eyes at her husband before marching her son into the corridor for a talking to. George grinned again before moving off to save his son from his impending doom.

Harry then shook his head, giving up the idea of having a conversation with his best friend amid such chaos. He should know better – every reunion was the same. Each year or so, the whole gang – the Weasleys, the various extended relatives, and members of the Order of the Phoenix would meet up at someone's house to just get together and catch up. Not everyone came every time, but everyone who could come did.

Harry had agreed to host this one, as Ginny had been begging for the chance to show off their new kitchen to her mother. Harry still found it amusing how Ginny was so much like her mother, but knew better than to say it. The Weasley women, either by blood or by marriage, were not ones to cross. He still vividly remembered the telling off Fleur had given him last year after her youngest daughter was pushed into the mud at George's house by James. He had foolishly pointed out that Vianne had thrown a stick at James first, which only caused Fleur to yell more, and louder.

The worst part was that Bill hadn't even tried to help him. He had stayed to the side with Ron, snickering, until Fleur rounded on them. Mostly the Weasley men, again by blood or marriage, avoided conflict with _all_ of the Weasley women. It was just not a good idea to fight them – carnage usually ensued.

Shaking his head with amusement at the memories, Harry joined the large amount of people gathering in the dining room. Apparently Ginny had summoned the children, who were all surrounding the table. James was staring at the food as though he'd never eaten in his life, and Rose was watching him with an expression of disgust. Harry then noticed that his godson and girlfriend were missing, and glanced around the room. Bill caught his eye and smirked, indicating that Fleur had gone looking for her daughter.

It was obvious when she found them. "What do you think you are doing to my daughter?!" she thundered, causing shouts of surprise from said teenagers.

The room remained silent (except for the various snickers disguised as coughing fits) until the red-faced couple returned, with a fuming Fleur following them, her wand at the ready to blast Teddy at a moment's notice. Bill wisely then moved over to attempt to calm his furious wife down, while the teenagers moved to the other side of the room and sat down, avoiding the gazes of the various people in the room.

Rose then moved over to her father, and asked, sounding very interested. "Why is Aunt Fleur so angry? Is it because Teddy and Victoire were kissing?" she whispered seriously, but since it was so quiet, most of the room heard her. Teddy and Victoire's faces reddened further in embarrassment, and Fleur's face reddened further in anger.

Ron's ears reddened. "Because she doesn't want her daughter kissing any boys, and neither do I. You're not kissing anyone or dating until your 30!" he said heatedly, not seeing Hermione's knowing smile and conspiratorial wink to Ginny, who covered her mouth with her hand to stop laughing. Harry noticed the exchange, and frowned, making a mental note to ask Ginny about it later. But he understood where Ron was coming from – as far as he was concerned, Lily wasn't going to be allowed to date for several years either. The aforementioned daughter turned to look at her father with wide eyes, and he immediately changed his mind. She wasn't going to be allowed out of the _house_ for several years, yet alone allowed to date.

Ginny seemed to know why her husband was scowling (his expression was very similar to Ron's, who an amused Hermione was ignoring), and decided to change the subject before it got serious. "So, who wants to eat?" she said cheerfully, causing an enthusiastic yell from James, who practically dived onto the table. Fortunately, Bill was able to grab the enthusiastic youngster before he upended all the food, thus enabling the rest of the family a chance to get some lunch.

Several minutes passed without any incidents as everyone started eating and lapsed into lunchtime conversation. However, with James and Albus Potter at the table, such peace was not to last. Within seconds, the two had started a food fight with each other, 'accidentally' hitting Rose and Victoire in the process (and Harry, though this was actually an accident caused by the former Seeker trying to dodge a leg of chicken and being struck by gravy when he moved instead). This caused a cry of horror from both girls (and Fleur), and led to Rose leaping onto James. Unfortunately for her, he dodged out of the way, which then started another 3-way war as they ran around the table, with Rose dragging Fred into the fight to help her.

Much to the other parent's amusement, Ginny, Hermione, and George's wife quickly stopped the fight by physically preventing any of the children from moving, and then started dragging them into the kitchen for a stern talking to and banishment from the food until the others had all finished (this last punishment was revealed to the remaining people in the dining room when Fred and James both howled in outrage).

Harry glanced over at Ron, who was laughing at both the children and Harry, who still had gravy on his face. Looking annoyed, Harry picked up a napkin, took off his glasses and wiped the offending substance off his face. As he did so, his hand rubbed over his scar. It had been so long since it had last ached that he often forgot it was there. It was a reminder of the war with Voldemort, which he'd put behind him in order to fully enjoy his family life. It was a reminder of the troubled times he'd survived to get here – where the only trouble came in the form of a child far too much like his father and namesake grandfather.

There were times when Harry was almost grateful for the trouble in his youth – it made him appreciate his family and friends even more. He had suffered so his family and friends didn't have to – and that made it all worth it.

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Angel: And there you have it. Let me know what you think of it - whether you liked it or hated it!

cya, Angel


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